The present invention relates generally to pattern matching algorithms, more particularly, to a longest prefix matching search algorithm that can be implemented in a network processing device.
The demand for hardware-integrated processing to support more and more complex tasks at media speed has led to the creation of network processors. Network processors provide wirespeed frame processing and forwarding capability with function flexibility through a set of embedded, programmable protocol processors and complementary system coprocessors. Network processors are expected to become the fundamental network building block for network devices in the manner that microprocessors are for today's personal computers. Network processors offer real-time processing of multiple data streams, providing enhanced security and IP packet handling and forwarding capabilities. In addition, they provide speed improvements through advanced architectures, such as parallel distributed processing and pipeline processing designs. These capabilities can enable efficient search engines, increased data handling throughput, and provide rapid execution of complex tasks. The programmable features of network processors provide network product developers an easier migration path to implement new protocols and technologies without requiring new custom Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) designs.
Network processors provide a highly customizable, scalable technology for the development of interconnect solutions for Internet or enterprise network providers. A network processor provides the basis for a wide range of solutions from a low-end, stand-alone device to a large multirack solution. Scaling of this nature is accomplished through the use of high performance, non-blocking packet routing switch technology and proprietary interfaces such as IBM Corporation's Data Aligned Serial Link (DASL) interface which can be adapted to other industry switch technologies.
As a programmable communications integrated circuit, the network processor provides very efficient packet classification, multi-table lookups per frame, packet modification, queue/policy management, and other packet processing capabilities. The network processor integrates a switching engine, search engine, frame processors and Ethernet MACs on one device to support the needs of customers who require high capacity, media weight switching frames based on frame content at any protocol layer.
Hardware accelerators perform frame forwarding, frame filtering and frame alteration. The network processor's ability to enforce hundreds of rules with complex range and action specifications sets a new benchmark for filtering capabilities, making a network processor-based system uniquely suited for high capacity server farm applications.
A typical system developed with a network processor uses a distributed software model, with each programmable network processor executing tasks concurrently. Some functions are performed in the control point (CP) processor, which can be internal or external to the network processor. The CP processor provides support for layer 2 and layer 3 routing protocols, and layer 4 and layer 5 network applications and systems management. Wirespeed forwarding and filtering functions are performed by a combination of the network processor hardware and resident picocode.
In communication networks, comprising a number of interconnected nodes, data can be sent from one node to any other node or network. Specialized nodes called routers are responsible for forwarding the data to their destinations. Any data sent through a communication network contains information about the destination address, generally as part of a header. Each router compares this information, or at least part of it, with a list of addresses stored internally. If a match is found between stored addresses and the destination address, the router establishes a path leading to the destination node. Depending on the network size and structure, the data are either directly forwarded to their destination or sent to another intermediate router. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) promulgated a routing standard in which a router stores routing information for partial addresses. The router then sends the packet to the best matching partial address it has in its database. The ISO standard allows a hierarchal structure of nodes to be built using a given number of digits or a given header length. Main routers are addressed by the initial part of the address, subrouters by the middle part, and the final destination by the last digits of the address. Therefore, it is sufficient for any router to read the digits assigned to the level of the hierarchy to which the data are to be sent.
The routing of the receive packet is based on the accompanying address string. The address string is used as a search key in a database which contains the address string along with other pertinent details such as which router is next in a delivery of a packet. The database is referred to as a routing table, while the link between the current router, and the next router is called the next hop in the progress of the packet. The routing table search process depends on the structure of the address as well as the organization of the tables. For example, a search key of a size less than 8 bits and having a nonhierarchal structure would most efficiently be found in a routing table organized as a series of address entries. The search key would be used as an index in the table to locate the right entry. For a search key of a larger size, say thirty-two bits, the corresponding routing table may have more than 10,000 entries. Organizing the database as a simple table to be searched directly by an index would waste a large amount of memory space, because most of the table would be empty.
Conventional routers break up the search process into several steps. The first step is to determine whether the router is directly connected to the destination host computer. In this case, the message is one hop from the destination and should be routed in that direction. If the destination computer is not directly connected to the router, the next step is to determine the topological direction of the destination network. If the direction is determined from the topological layout, the message is routed that way. Otherwise, the final step is to route the message along a default link.
Typically, the first step is performed using a linear search through a table containing the thirty-two bit addresses of host computers directly connected to the router. Reflecting the local topology, each entry in the address table is connected to a corresponding output interface leading directly to the addressed computer. When a destination address is received by a router, the full thirty-two bits are compared with each of the destination addresses in a table. If a match is found, the message is sent directly to the corresponding destination via the specified router interface. The second step, that of determining the direction of the destination network, is not usually performed by a linear search through a table since the number of network addresses would make such a table difficult to manage and use. In the prior art, when address strings conformed to the three-level hierarchy of network address, subnet address and host identification, routers performed the determination using one of several well-known techniques, such as hashing, Patricia-tree searching, and multilevel searching. In hashing, a hash function reduces the network portion of the address, producing a small, manageable index. The hash index is used to index a hash table and to search for a matching hash entry. Corresponding to each hash entry of the hash table is the address of an output interface pointing in the topological direction of a corresponding network. If a match is found between the hash network portion and a hash entry, the message is directed towards the corresponding interface and destination network.
Hashing reduces a large, unmanageable field to a small manageable index. In the process, however, there is a chance that two or more fields may generate the same hash index. This occurrence is referred to as a collision, since these fields must be stored in the same location in the hash table. Further searching is needed to differentiate the entries during a collision. Therefore, collisions reduce the efficiency obtained from using the hashing search, and in the worst case, where all permissible addresses reduce to a single index, hashing is rendered practically useless as a search process.
Patricia-tree searching avoids the collisions encountered by hashing methods. This method of searching requires that all address strings and accompanying information, such as related route information, be stored in a binary tree. Starting from the most significant bit position within the address string, the search process compares the address, bit by bit, with the tree nodes. A matched bit value guides the search to visit either the left or the right child node and the process is repeated for the next bit of the address. The search time is proportional to the size of the longest address string stored. In Patricia-tree searching, the difference between the average search time and the worst case search time is not very large. In addition, the routing table is organized quite efficiently. It requires less memory than comparable routing tables of hashing methods. Patricia-tree searching handles the worst case searches better than the hashing methods, but in most cases it takes significantly longer to locate a match. Therefore, many conventional routers use a combination of hashing and Patricia-tree searching. This combination is called multilevel searching. Multilevel searching joins hashing with Patricia-tree searching. A cache stores a hash table containing a subset of the most recently, and presumably most commonly, routed network addresses, while a Patricia-tree stores the full set of network addresses. As the message is received, the destination address is hashed onto the table. If it is not located within a pre-determined period of time, the address is passed to the Patricia-tree search engine which insures that the address, if stored, will be found.
In the prior art, there are a number of known tree search algorithms including fixed match trees, longest prefix match trees and software managed trees. Fixed match trees are used for fixed size patterns requiring an exact match, such as layer 2 Ethernet MAC tables. Longest prefix match trees are used for variable length patterns requiring only partial matches, such as IP subnet forwarding. Software managed trees are used for patterns that are defined as ranges or bit masks, such as filter rules. In general, lookup is performed with the aid of a tree search engine (TSE).